


With Strings Attached

by CelestialSpace



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Death, First Kiss, First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Galaxy Garrison, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Red String of Fate, Sad Ending, Sad Keith (Voltron), Shiro is a nice guy, keith's dad is bad, nice guy shiro, same thing, well not red but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 00:19:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12782793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialSpace/pseuds/CelestialSpace
Summary: Because of his parents and his childhood, the stings of fate leaves a bad taste in his mouth. From a young age he vowed he never wanted to find whoever was at the other end. But that's not how fate works.Determined to prove everyone wrong, Keith gets into the Galaxy Garrison and strives to see the stars up close.Because of his "teamwork issues" Keith is assigned a senior cadet to be his buddy, little does he know, but fate has already been set into motion.Things seem to be going well and Keith finally feels like he's happy, but what will happen when that is taken away?





	With Strings Attached

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry in advance!

As a child Keith would sit huddled in his closet with his arms wrapped around his bent knees. Flinching at every harsh word in raised tones and thuds of things, and sometimes a person, hitting something from a nearby room.

Keith would let teardrops dribble down like rain to soak into the knees of his pants. He would hold up his right hand to see the string that sat nestled against the base of his pinky. The string was a perfect circle without an open or a close and the color of a dark purple, a violet his mother would sometimes say. The string was permanently wrapped around his finger with an attached string extending off to some distant place. 

His mother used to always tell him there was someone at the other end of it, someone who was meant for him. She would say that one day he would find that person, just as she had found hers. Keith would eye the sickly green cord that connected his mother to his father, the only other person who was able to see it because they had no other relatives, and would hope that he would never find his person. 

One day, she stopped talking about the strings, acting as if they never existed, and Keith would find broken pairs of scissors littering the house - the blades bent around the center with indentations from something. 

\--- 

The moment Keith decided he would never let his person find him was the moment he saw what a broken cord looked like. 

The yelling had came to a sudden halt, the now too-quiet of the house broken by the sudden repetition of his mother’s name from his father’s lips. He entered the bedroom to find his father hunched over his mother, her limp body only held up by his father’s hands which were wrapped around her delicate waist. 

Her body flopped as his father shook her almost-gently, still repeating her name, her arm outstretched above her shoulder as it bobbed with the movements. Keith’s eyes were caught by the string still snugly fit on her pinky finger but it was different now. The long string which had connected his parents was now disconnected, it had broken off at the center and was slowly fizzling away and creeping closer towards both ends. 

The string stopped burning only inches away from his mother’s pinky, the green of the sting now black at the end that dangles in the thick air. 

It isn’t until his father looks up at him that Keith turns and runs from the room. 

He bounces from foster home to foster him. His aversion to strings of fate and any talk of them makes any would-be adoptive parents upset and uncomfortable and he doesn’t end up staying with them long after that. 

He fights his way through everything that he does: through foster homes, bullies, even his studies - especially his studies. He dreams of the stars and longs to be amongst them, willing to do anything to get there and to prove everyone wrong. He’ll prove the orphans, the social workers, and the foster parents wrong; Keith will make something of himself, he’ll achieve his dreams and he won’t end up like his father. He never visits the prison. 

\--- 

Heat flushes his body and his blood roaring in his ears block out all sound as he holds the acceptance letter into the Galaxy Garrison in his hands. His heart picking up speed in his chest and flutters with excitement. He smiles for the first time since her death. 

As he walks the halls of the Garrison he doesn’t notice his string getting shorter, losing some slack with proximity. He continues to work hard, he spends all his time studying for his classes and keeps top marks. Keith pushes away all the other cadets, he doesn’t need people - doesn’t need friends, there’s no use for friends when he’s in space. 

He finds out he’s apparently wrong when review after review tells him he lacks teamwork skills. Because of his high grades and sim scores they’re assigning him a senior cadet who will be his new “buddy.” Keith will have to spend every waking minute he’s not in the bathroom with the other cadet to “help him.” Keith’s lip turns up at the words on the paper and he crumples it in his hand. 

\--- 

Keith arrives a few minutes early to the meeting place and paces outside the doors of the board room. He’s startled from his thoughts when he hears the steady sound of footfalls as someone comes closer and rounds the corner. 

Keith’s eyes roam from Garrison-issued boots to the olive tones of the senior cadet uniform the boy is wearing. Keith glances at the senior cadets black hair which is shorn close at the sides and hangs long across the top with a forelock that dangles in front of his face. He catches steel gray eyes as they widen in surprise and he turns his head to try to find what the boy is looking at. Keith is floating in uncertainty. Static seems to fill his veins and a fog covers his vision. With his heart thundering in his chest his lungs stop working. Oxygen no longer reaches him and he feels dizzy and lightheaded. A cord the color of mucous flashes before his eyes and bile rises in the back of his throat. 

He turns and runs. 

Keith doesn’t stop running until the door to roof closes behind him. He stumbles out to the middle of the roof and feels himself calm slightly knowing that no one else knows how to get there. He allows himself to collapse to his knees and tears come unbidden. His hands card into his already messy hair and he tousles the raven locks further. 

Keith clenches his teeth in a snarl as a sob rips its way out of his throat. He curls further in on himself, his elbows practically touching his knees. He releases his hair to clutch tightly to the deep purple chord. In his semi-frantic movements the long cord gets wrapped around his forearms and fingers as he reaches for the excess that’s pooled around his knees to bring them to his chest. 

His knuckles are white with his tight grip and his hands shake minutely. He’s startled when he hears the door to the roof push open and he immediately quiets. All sound seems deafened on the roof, only his labored breathing disturbing the quiet. Footsteps cautiously step closer, purposely making sure he can hear them and keeping some space between them, and a pair of Garrison-issued boots halt before him. 

Keith doesn’t move to look at the person and holds his position still, remaining silent. He’s surprised when the person kneels before him, knees pressing down into the hard surface of the roof to mirror Keith’s position. With a soft sigh Keith lets his hands fall to his lap and he flicks his hair out of his face so he can look up at the person before him. 

Keith is greeted by the sight of the boy from before, a sad smile gracing the older boy’s lips. His eyes flick down to where the purple string is circled around the other’s right pinky before looking back up into those steel gray eyes. 

“I’m Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro if you want.” The boy- Takashi, holds out his right hand in greeting, the string dangling from his finger growing taut with their closeness. Keith moves to accept his hand but quickly he realizes he’s trapped in the string that is looped around his forearms. Takashi chuckles at Keith’s huff of annoyance and he shuffles closer on his knees. 

“Help?” It’s practically a whisper which is whipped away in the gentle desert wind but Takashi understands it for the peace offering that it is. Large hands reach out to meet Keith’s half way and he expertly helps pull and tug in all the right ways to make the cord fall loose, finally freeing Keith. Takashi must see the fear in Keith’s eyes or maybe it’s the way his body is trembling but the older boy only smiles softly at Keith and hold his right hand out in the space between them as the cord shortens with their closeness. 

With a deep breath Keith reaches out and lets his palm slide against Takashi’s larger hand, he feels the ridges of callouses across the boy’s long fingers. Tingles erupt from their point of contact and race up his hand, the feeling surging like waves and crashing against his skin. The warm tingles flow through him till it takes root in his heart, warmth lapping at the edges of his heart. His body feels like it’s too full, like it’s at the brink of overflowing with this foreign, but not unwelcome feeling. 

They sigh at the same time and Keith’s eyes suddenly open, not knowing he had closed them. Takashi’s eyes are like molten silver, simmering with a warmth directed at Keith which makes the boy’s face flush. Takashi smile grows wider, never dimming once since Keith laid his eyes on him. 

“Can I hug you?” Keith is surprised by the question but he sees the genuine want in Takashi’s eyes so he nods his assent and lets the older boy shuffle closer till his knees are bracketing Keith’s thighs. The hand moves from under his and then arms are around him. 

A feeling of safety surges through Keith as Takashi’s broad shoulders eclipse the sun and casts Keith in his shadow. His large arms encircle Keith and he’s able to tuck his large hands under Keith’s arms on either side of him. Tingles sit on his skin like a soft buzz everywhere they touch and the world seems to fall away from Keith. He can no longer hear the wind whistling across the roof or the murmur of cadets far below on the campus and he clutches tightly onto the olive uniform. 

All Keith can hear is the rapid thumping of Shiro’s racing heart against his ear. Every rise of Shiro’s chest pushes Keith away slightly but every release of breath draws him close again. For the next few weeks Keih seems to live there, in the circle of Takashi’s arms, palms slide against palms as their fingers tangle together. 

\--- 

It’s a Friday evening when it happens. Takashi and Keith are in the library with their chairs pushed flush against each other; they touch from shoulder to boot, Takashi’s right arm is hooked over Keith’s shoulders with the smaller boy tucked tightly up under his arm. The fingers of their right hands laced together, both smiling as their strings rub against one another. 

The pun slips from Takashi’s grinning lips and Keith can’t help but react. The laugh ripples up from low in his belly and his eyes close with mirth. As the laughter slowly trails off he stills when he finds Takashi staring down at him intensely. There’s a new heat in his gaze; the silver of his eyes seem to boil with it and land heavy on his skin. The older boy turns in his chair to better face Keith, their knees now pressing very close together. 

Takashi leans down several inches and then stops, he hovers a small distance from Keith with his eyes half lidded. Keith’s eyes move to follow Takashi’s tongue as it licks across his lips. When he meets the older boy’s eyes again he raises an eyebrow to Keith in question and Keith tilts his head up in response. 

Shiro descends on him slowly, closing the distance between them at a snail’s pace and Keith’s eyes drift closed. When their lips finally touch the softness of Takashi’s lips sends tingles across the point of contact and they race outwards across Keith’s face making him shiver. Takashi presses closer still, their lips fully connecting and pressed closely together. A hand cups Keith’s face and Takashi tilts his head to the side, their lips fitting together better. 

After several moments Takashi pulls back breathing heavily and Keith reaches up to trace his defined jaw from chin to ear slowly. The older boy tilts his head into the touch which makes Keith smile softly. He hooks his hand behind Takashi’s head and pulls him back down to connect their lips once again. Takashi sighs into the kiss and Keith opens his mouth slightly in invitation. 

Takashi’s mouth opens and his tongue slips out to slide along Keith’s lower lip, giving him time to pull away if he wants to. The wet muscle pushes past the seam of Keith’s lips and licks into his mouth and it reaches out to Keith’s, encouraging Keith to meet Shiro’s tongue with his own. Keith stumbles for a moment, seeming to feel out what Shiro is doing with his tongue so he can replicate it. Keith is a quick study, their tongues soon glide together easily as their mouths move against each other. 

Keith pulls back to catch his breath, panting in the air between their lips. Their moment is suddenly interrupted by the jarring sound of someone loudly clearing their throat. Keith jumps in his seat and puts some distance between Takashi and himself and Takashi smiles sheepishly at the glaring librarian with a blush coloring his cheeks. The moment she walks away they burst with giggles leaning heavily against each other. Life goes on goes on like usual for the two of them, except with more kissing, until Takashi receives the news. 

\--- 

Takashi will be piloting the mission to Kerberos. Keith has never felt so happy and so proud for someone else in his entire life. His chest is full to bursting with this lightness and the feeling only grows with every look at his Takashi. Keith tried to push ill thoughts away, but his heart would sink like a stone into his stomach when he thought about Takashi being away for a year; then Keith would look down at the violet string around his finger and know that Takashi would always come back to him as long as the cord connected them together. 

The day Takashi left he spent every moment that he could would Keith, whispering reassuring words and promises to the younger boy while holding him close. 

“I’ll come back to you; I’ll always come back to you.”Takashi kissed the string around Keith’s pinky and the boy knew that he meant it and it made things a little easier. Keith was able to see Takashi off with the other families because Takashi specifically asked for him. Keith gets one last soft kiss before Takashi is gone. 

\--- 

It’s been six months since Takashi has been gone. The Garrison had released that the crew had touched down on Kerberos safely and Keith’s chest ached with the pictures of Takashi that remained plastered on all the monitors within the Garrison displaying the information. It was late one night when Keith found himself drug from a deep sleep by a jarring feeling. 

Keith couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong, there was a pain coming from somewhere deep inside of him; it wasn’t a physical pain, no internal or external part of him hurting, but it was something deep inside of him, it almost felt like his soul was being ripped open and gutted. A maw of emptiness was growing in his chest and tears were flowing freely down his face. 

Keith startles when movement catches his eye and a wail rises from deep within his chest when he realizes what he’s seeing. The violet cord which had been extended up into the sky for the past six months just phased through the ceiling of Keith’s dorm and is fluttering to the ground as the string burns out at the end. 

The cord burns out closer to Keith, the end disappearing behind the small flame as it eats away at the violet cord. It fizzles out only a few inches away from Keith and he raises his hand to stare at the scant inches of cord that dangles lifelessly from the string circled around Keith’s pinky. Keith chokes on sobs as pain and emptiness burns through the center of his chest, eating away at him. 

Keith feels the cavity of his chest rip open and it feels like his very soul is leaking out of his body. The agony tears through him setting every individual nerve in his body on fire and leaving nothing but ash behind. Molten lava seems to pour through his arteries and veins searing his flesh from the inside out as sobs racks his body; what remains hardens into something cold and lifeless. 

Keith knows his lamenting is probably drawing attention to his dorm and to himself but Keith can’t bring himself to care at that moment. He weeps at the new emptiness settling inside of him and feels a frigid coldness take place inside his body that chases away the warmth that used to be Takashi. His chest is now an empty chasm, broken and crumbling at the edges; his heart has been decimated, the organ hanging lifeless inside of him. 

Keith tries to mentally pick up the broken pieces of his soul and takes in a shuddering breath. Keith rises and does the only thing he knows. 

He runs. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! You made it this far! What did you think? I'm thinking about writing an alternate version with a happy ending if anyone is interested?? Leave me some kudos or a comment or you could come yell at me on Tumblr- captaincelestialspace or on Twitter- @KristenRandall
> 
> A huge thanks to my amazing beta uhavefaith!!!! She's my muse in everything I do and inspires me to write so give her some love too!!


End file.
